


Rang; 



Imsi 



BR 







- S2 ~ £f 






^/.yiyA/^AQ. 



UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 







MEMOIRS AND REMAINS 



FREDERICK P. SULLINGS, 

WHO DIED IN PORTSMOUTH, R. I. 

&jjetr sebenteeu Yeats. 



BY ZALMON TOBEY, 

PASTOR OF THE FIRST CHRISTIAN SOCIETY - . 

PORTSMOUTH, R. I. 
I 




BOSTON: 

PUBLISHED BY JAMES LORIx\G 3 
132 Washington Street. 

1835. 






* %*l 









Entered according 1 to the act of Congress, in the year 1835j 

BY JAMES LORING, 
In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of Massachusetts. 



Jifif'a 



PREFACE. 



Youthful reader, I had the hap- 
piness of an intimate acquaintance 
with the subject of the following 
memoir and remains. I wish to say 
that in this sketch you have but a 
few of the virtues and excellencies 
of Frederick's life and character 
portrayed. There are materials for 
a much larger volume ; but in this, 
you have some of the most promi- 
nent of his virtues set before you 
for your imitation, and a choice se- 
lection of his writings for your in- 
struction. 



PREFACE. 



It was not originally the intention 
of the estimable parent of Frederick, 
to present the memoirs or writings 
of his son to the youth of our land 
generally, being only prepared for his 
more private use. But being ever 
ready to promote the welfare of the 
young, he consented, at my solicita- 
tion, to have this edition presented 
to the public. 

It is my ardent prayer, that those 
young persons into whose hands this 
little volume may fall, will imitate 
Frederick in his life, and be prepar- 
ed thereby to reap the rewards oif 
piety with him in death. 

J. V. HIMES. 

Boston, April 20, 1835. 



MEMOIR. 



" Sweet is the scene when virtue dies ! 

When sinks a pious youth to rest, 
How mildly beam the closing eyes ! 

How gently heaves the expiring breast ! 

It is a dictate of wisdom, to consider well 
the nature and extent of the blessings of our 
present existence. Under the influence of pros- 
perity, and especially in the joyousness of youth, 
we raise our expectations too high, of the hap- 
piness to be enjoyed in the present life. To 
the young and prosperous, the world presents 
an enchanting scene ; every object is seen with 
smiling aspect, and every change in their future 
condition promises an increase of happiness. 
Few allowances are made for the disappoint- 
ments which necessarily attend us here, and 
for all the " ills to which flesh is heir.'' The 
2 



10 MEMOIR OF 

period, too, allotted man upon the earth, though 
the aged speak of its brevity, and the learned 
so eloquently set forth its uncertainty, and the 
scriptures so affectingly confirm the truth of 
both, yet, to the young, seems almost an age, 
and the life of man a duration which will almost 
never have passed away. 

By the disappointed and the afflicted, on the 
other hand, the blessings and enjoyments of life 
are too frequently undervalued. Life appears 
to them, an almost uninterrupted series of trials, 
and sorrows, and tears. Dejected and sorrow- 
stricken, every thing joyous, flattering, cheerful, 
from them is fled away ; and this whole world 
is seen as a vale of tears and a world of woe. 
l< As a servant earnestly desireth the shadow, 
and an hireling looketb for the reward of his 
work, so are they made to possess months of 
vanity, and wearisome nights are appointed unto 
them." Such is to them a just and accurate 
description of the life of man. The truth prob- 
ably lies between these two extremes. Life is 
subject to many trials ; it has also, or may have, 
if improved aright, many enjoyments and bless- 
ings. 

The justness of these remarks will, I trust, 
appear, from the following notice of the dear 



FREDERICK P. SULL1NGS. 11 

youth of whom I am now to speak. His life 
was sufficiently long to secure important bless- 
ings ; and his early removal, by the arrest of 
death, arTectingly sets forth life's brevity and 
uncertainty. 

Frederick P. Sullings, the fourth son of 
Elder Harvey Sullings, commenced life under 
circumstances peculiarly auspicious. His father 
possessed both the means and the disposition of 
giving his children every advantage necessary 
to success, in any business or avocation which 
they might choose to pursue. Frederick's mind 
was early turned to literary pursuits ; and as 
he gave evidence of uncommon genius, and had 
a strong inclination for study, it was his father's 
intention to have given him a liberal education. 

In pursuance of this plan, after he had passed 
through the course of common school instruc- 
tion, he was placed at the high school in Provi- 
dence, R. I., under the tuition of distinguished 
instructers. Here he continued about six 
months, and pursued a course of studies design- 
ed as preparatory to his admission into college. 
His proficiency, while at this school, was such 
as gave promise of success in literary pursuits, 
and was highly gratifying to his father. Dur- 



12 MEMOIR OF 

ing this period, he resided with the writer of 
this article, and by his amiable and winning de- 
portment endeared himself to him, and to all 
who had opportunity of becoming intimately ac- 
quainted with him. 

Leaving the high school, in Providence, he 
became a member of the Wesleyan academy at 
Wilbraham, where he remained twelve months ; 
at the expiration of which, he returned to the 
house of his father, with the expectation of 
commencing soon his collegiate course at Brown 
University. 

Such were his expectations, such his pros- 
pects at this time. In anticipation, he was 
passing through college halls ; he was surround- 
ed with libraries of the choicest selection, to all 
of which he had free access ; he was associated 
with young men of kindred minds and similar 
pursuits. These, these were the fascinating 
scenes that, in imagination, were passing before 
him. The reality how different! The sick 
room, the bed of pain, the wasting disease, the 
hoarse cough, the dying struggle, the cold, dark 
grave, the final retribution — these became to 
him realities, and these were the solemn scenes 
he was called to experience. 



FREDERICK P. SULLINGS. 13 

*« Ah ! in what perils is vain life engaged ! 

What slight neglects, what trivial faults destroy the hardiest 

frame ! 
Of indolence, of toil we die, of want, of superfluity ! 
The all-surrounding heaven, the vital air is big with death I" 

Just at the point of time we extend the hand 
to receive the cup of worldly prosperity, it often 
unexpectedly eludes our grasp, and falls broken 
and shattered at our feet. So it was with the 
subject of these remarks. A violent cough, 
with which he was seized early in the spring of 
1831, soon terminated his literary pursuits, 
blighted all his prospects, and brought him to 
an untimely grave. 

In the early stages of his disease, the con- 
sumption, neither himself nor his family appre- 
hended him dangerous; as it gradually pro- 
gressed, however, recourse was had to the usual 
expedients. He suspended his studies, applied 
to a physician, journeyed from place to place, 
visited his friends, and, for awhile, himself and 
his parents were sanguine in the expectation of 
a favourable result. Hope was excited, but ex- 
cited only to be succeeded by sad disappoint- 
ment. In a little while he was confined to his 
house, soon to his room, and afterwards mostly 
to his bed, in which situation he languished 
2* 



14 MEMOIR OF 

and suffered until June 5th, 1831, when he was 
released from all his sufferings by death, at the 
early age of seventeen years ten months and 
seventeen days. 

Mournful indeed was the scene, and painful, 
beyond conception painful, were the feelings of 
the bereaved parents, of brothers and sisters, as 
they were separated from one so fair in promise, 
so bright in prospect, and so dear to them by 
every tie of nature and affection. Sad indeed 
was the occasion when, slowly moving in the 
funeral procession, they were following their 
son and brother to the place appointed for all 
the living, and were committing his mortal re- 
mains to the silent grave. 

Ah ! what is life ? What, man ? what, the 
world ? what, genius, talents, learning ? what, 
wealth, youth, beauty ? what, all the world calls 
good or great ? Nothing ! nothing ! all vanity 
and less than vanity, if our prospects terminate 
at death. But do they, must they thus termin- 
ate at death ? So was it not with the dear young 
man of whom w 7 e have spoken. No. Through 
the Gospel, life and immortality to him were 
brought to light. This leads us to the principal 
object had in view in this brief memoir, viz ; 
to speak of the power of the Gospel to sustain 



FREDERICK P. SULLINGS. 15 

in the day of affliction, and the worth of religion, 
as exemplified in the death of the pious. 

Frederick, young as he was, had for more 
than four years previous to his death been a 
professor of religion. At a very early age he 
became a subject of religious impressions ; and 
at the age of about thirteen, he was so far estab- 
lished in his Christian experience, that he of- 
fered himself as a candidate for the ordinance 
of baptism. He was baptized by Elder Charles 
Morgridge, and received as a member of the 
First Christian Church in New Bedford, of 
which church he continued a member until his 
death. 

Happy in his own mind, and feeling a strong 
desire that his fellow youth might participate in 
the holy pleasures of religion, Frederick was 
often heard in the public congregation, exhort- 
ing his associates and companions to embrace 
the Saviour, and all who were estranged from 
God, to turn from the errors of their way, to 
flee from the wrath to come, and to lay hold on 
eternal life. His improvements in this way 
perhaps at first excited the more attention and 
produced the greater effect on account of his 
age ; but it was soon ascertained by the more 
experienced and aged even, that he possessed 



16 MEMOIR OF , 

extraordinary gifts, gifts which gave uncommon 
promise that if properly cultivated and improved 
would make him eminently useful as a minister 
of the Gospel. In this great and good work, 
his father and indeed all his Christian friends 
were hoping and expecting to see him success- 
fully employed. 

In the Christian connection, many worthy 
and excellent men, as was the case with the 
most of the apostles, are useful and highly suc- 
cessful ministers of the new covenant, who had 
not extraordinary advantages of early education. 
And such is the present state of the connection, 
that few learned men are among its ministers. 

Frederick, as we have already mentioned, 
had ample means to obtain a liberal education ; 
he was too young to commence the work of the 
gospel ministry, immediately ; his piety was in- 
disputable ; his gifts for public speaking were, 
for one so young, remarkable ; and, on every 
account, the plan which his father had designed, 
of giving him great advantages of education, 
with reference to what would probably be his 
future calling, appeared evidently the indication 
of Divine Providence. What minister of the 
Gospel, under such circumstances, would not 
have chosen the same course. If every pious 



FREDERICK P. SULLINGS. J 7 

parent can say, I have no greater joy than to 
see my children walking in the fear of the Lord, 
what must be the feelings of a sincere, humble, 
devoted minister of Jesus, when blessed with a 
son of such piety, of such gifts, of such promise, 
of such prospects ! How natural, how almost 
unavoidable, to such a father, the following or 
similar reflections. 

Ah ! I perceive age is coming upon me, old 
age, with all its weaknesses, with all its neces- 
sary attendants. I look around upon the gospel 
field, it is interesting, it is spacious, it is white, 
and all ready for the harvest ; but the labourers 
are few. In this field I have long toiled, some- 
times with success, and sometimes under many 
discouragements and with dreary prospects. I 
have loved the work ; I love it still ; it is to me 
as life itself, dear ; but my work will soon be 
done. In a few more years, at most, I shall 
have gone the way of all the earth ; and who 
shall succeed me in these labours for the good 
of the church, for the salvation of souls? Who 
shall instruct and edify these churches? Who 
shall warn and invite these sinners? Here is my 
son, Lord, send him ; yes, send him. As I 
have indications it is thy will, Lord, send him. 
He is dear to me ; he is a son of much promise ; 



18 MEMOIR OF 

he could probably shine in the world, with the 
opportunities I give him, in connection with 
uncommon natural endowments ; he could prob- 
ably gain wealth and honour ; he could attain 
to great worldly distinctions; but, Lord, I 
cheerfully consecrate him to thy service. I 
have often, with the apostle, given thanks to 
God, that he counted me worthy, putting me 
into the ministry, notwithstanding all I have 
suffered in this work ; and now I consider my- 
self doubly honoured and blessed, that he hath 
given me this son to succeed me in my labours 
when on earth I am no more. More than this. 
I even hope to see his already growing mind 
greatly enlarged and improved, his present 
course of education completed, and himself en- 
tered upon the great and good work of the gos- 
pel ministry. With what thrilling emotions, 
with what gratitude to God, with what indes- 
cribable satisfaction to myself, do I hope to hear 
the same precious doctrines I have so long 
preached, fall from his lips. Nor in this shall 
I be alone. The partner of my life, the sharer 
in all my joys and in all my sorrows, the mother 
who bore him, who cherished him in infancy, 
who watched over him in childhood, and who 
as long as she lives will regard him with all a 



FREDERICK P. SULLINGS. 19 

mother's affection and tenderness, will equally 
participate in this joy. 

Such were the prospects, and these, it is nat- 
ural to suppose, were the expectations of the 
parents; but, as we have seen, death in the 
midst of them came, and the dear object of all 
their hopes has found a premature grave. So 
it seems to us. So we speak. With God his 
death was not premature, was not untimely. 
It was with him the very best time — for he 
appointed it ; it was in the very best way — 
for he directed it. So also did it appear to our 
young friend in his last sickness and in his 
death. Although his sufferings were great and 
long continued, yet through them all he was 
resigned, was resigned to the will of Xjfod. Al- 
though he had every thing one could have to 
bind him to earth, and to induce him to wish a 
much longer stay here, yet he never spake of 
over anxiety to recover, or in any way manifest- 
ed undue solicitude in regard to the event. He 
saw that he must die ; he perceived an incura- 
ble disease was preying upon him ; that death, 
the grave and eternity were before him, and he 
found that Gospel he had professed and that 
grace in which he had trusted were sufficient 
to sustain him. Of this Gospel he had often 



20 MEMOIR OF 

spoken to others, and to this grace he had often 
called the attention of his fellow youth, and 
now he was called to put their efficacy and re- 
ality to the test. 

In health and prosperity, amid the cheerful 
scenes and the active pursuits of life, we can 
speak of the worth of religion, and with propri- 
ety ; but it is in sickness and in death religion 
appears in all its power to console, in all its effi- 
cacy to sustain. 

Thus the prophet — " The Spirit of the Lord 
God is upon me ; because the Lord hath anoint- 
ed me to preach good tidings unto the meek ; he 
hath sent me to bind up the broken hearted : to 
appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give 
unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for 
mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit 
of heaviness." And again — " When thou 
passest through the waters, I will be with thee ; 
and through the rivers, they shall not overflow 
thee : when thou walkest through the fire, thou 
shalt not be burned ; neither shall the flame 
kindle upon thee." 

Thus the psalmist — " Though I walk through 
the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no 
evil ; for thou art with me, thy rod and thy 
staff, they comfort me." And thus the apostle 



FREDERICK P. SULLINGS. 21 

— O death, where is thy sting? O grave, 
where is thy victory ? Thanks be to God, who 
giveth us the victory, through our Lord Jesus 
Christ." 

So in the case we are describing. He often 
said, he saw nothing dark or gloomy in death. 
He frequently asked those by his bed-side, how 
long they thought it would be before he should 
get home. He was anxious, he said, to be 
serving God where there is no sorrow nor pain. 

When he requested prayers of ministers or 
others, who visited him, or were with him, he 
wished them to pray that he might enjoy the 
same composure he then felt, until death. For 
days and weeks he had no clouds, or doubts, or 
fears ; and this state of mind continued with 
him until his death. Being asked, by one who 
stood by him, if he was glad he was going ; he 
replied, " yes." This was the last word he was 
heard to utter, and was perhaps not more than 
three minutes before he breathed his last, and 
sweetly fell asleep in the arms of his Saviour. 

On the 8th of June, 1833, his remains were 
committed to the silent grave ; there in quiet 
to rest, until the resurrection of the just. He 
made a selection of a text and of three hymns 
for his funeral ; and, according to his request, 
3 



22 MEMOIR OF 

his funeral sermon was preached from Rev. 14 : 
13, " And I heard a voice from heaven, saying 
unto me, Write, Blessed are the dead who die 
in the Lord from henceforth : yea, saith the 
Spirit, that they may rest from their labours ; 
and their works do follow them," by J. O. 
Choules, Pastor of the Second Baptist Church 
in Newport. 

" He sleeps in Jesus and is blest j 

How sweet his slumbers are ; 
From suffering and from sin released, 

And freed from every care." 

Thus lived and thus died this interesting 
youth. It can justly be said, without exagger- 
ation, he was a son of uncommon promise. 
His natural talents were far above mediocrity. 
He had a penetrating mind, and a vivid imag- 
ination. He was fond of learning, and possess- 
ed genius to acquire and a talent to use it when 
acquired. He had a pleasant and, for one so 
young, a commanding voice ; and many can 
testify that they have often listened to his ex- 
hortations, in the conference room and praying 
circle, with almost perfect astonishment. His 
addresses, too, before several literary societies, 
excited much interest in his favour, and elicited, 



FREDERICK P. SULLINGS. 23 

even from good judges of such performances, 
much commendation. They were, of course, 
juvenile productions, and should be judged and 
spoken of as such. They were, however, indi- 
cations of genius, or at least of a mind capable 
of great improvement, and of talents which, 
being improved and guided in the right direc- 
tion, would lead to eminence. In his person, 
he was tall, slender and well proportioned ; in 
his manners, he was pleasing and attractive ; 
and in every respect he was qualified to appear 
to advantage in the elevated sphere in which he 
was designed to move. One can hardly forget, 
when speaking of his person, of his prospects, 
and of his end, the affecting lines of the poet : 

" I have seen the gay tulip, the pride of the vale, 
Though it blossomed at noon, ere evening, grew pale, 

And wither and die in a day ; 
I have seen the fair violets, of beautiful hue, 
But their bloom will not last, and they fade like the dew 

That hangs o'er the eye lids of May." 

In eulogizing departed friends, a wrong im- 
pression is frequently given — their virtues are 
exaggerated, their faults concealed. We wish 
to avoid this too common error ; and have en- 
deavoured, in speaking of his virtues, his talents 
and his prospects, not to overrate. It should 



24 MEMOIR OF 

be understood also, that he had his faults and 
that, like all young persons, he committed im- 
prudences. We can see no advantage, however, 
in dwelling on his juvenile imperfections, and 
would only say, they were such as might be 
expected in one of his age, of his temperament, 
and in his circumstances. Alas ! he is gone, 
and can neither be affected by our censure or 
applause ; but his brief life and his affecting 
death may impart to us, and especially to the 
young, important instructions and admonitions. 
We may learn therefrom, 

First, How ineffectual is the security against 
the arrest of death, which youth, and prospects, 
and worldly advantages afford. 

They afford no security. The destroyer re- 
gards none of these things ; or, if he regards 
them, they rather speed him on his way and 
hasten his approach. In designating his vic- 
tims, he often passes by the aged, the infirm, 
the poor, the sorrow-stricken and the afflicted, 
and the fairest and the loveliest of the sons of 
earth are the very first that fall, withered and 
dead, at his touch. The most valuable things 
of earth are the most rare, the most beautiful 
soonest fade ; so the most promising of the sons 
of men soonest die. 



FREDERICK P. SULLINGS. 25 

This is, indeed, a most afflicting representa- 
tion of the prospects of the present world. The 
young can hardly believe it real ; but yet if they 
consider, they cannot doubt it. When they 
look into the word of God, they read, " All flesh 
is grass, and all the goodliness thereof as the 
flower of the field." When they walk over the 
place where lie the dead, they see many graves 
there that contain persons younger than they. 
When their attention is directed to obituary 
notices, they find among them the young and 
those of fairest promise. When they shall look 
over these lines, they will perceive that Freder- 
ick is dead. Well will it be for them, if, from 
these instances, they will take warning and re- 
ceive instruction. Well will it be for them, if 
they will consider on their latter end. 

Secondly, We may learn the worth of religion, 
the exceeding great value of the gospel. 

In the sick room and on the dying bed, those 
things of which v^e think so much, and which 
we so much value when in health, lose all their 
power to please, and all their former attractions 
speedily vanish away. Wealth, youth, beauty, 
worldly prospects, all retire from the dying, 
and leave him, without aid or consolation, alone 
to go down to the grave. They refuse to ac- 
3* 



26 MEMOIR OF 

company him through this dark and dreary val- 
ley, and return to bless those who are in health. 
So it is with all the pleasures of sin, and with 
all the enjoyments of 4 the world ; they come not 
to cheer us in sickness, to console us in trouble, 
or to attend us in a dying hour. Not so, reli- 
gion. It proffers us guidance, instruction and 
happiness, in health, in business, in all the la- 
bours and pursuits of life ; and when adversity 
approaches, when sickness and afflictions come, 
and even when death draws near, it forsakes us 
not. 

" When the heart sickens, and each pulse is death, 

Even then religion shall sustain the just, 

Grace their last moments, nor desert their dust." 

O the worth, the incomparable worth of the 
Gospel ! What can the sick and the dying do 
without it ? Without it, how hopeless the con- 
dition of man ! how cheerless life ! how awful 
death ! how dark and dreary the grave ! With 
it, we have nothing to fear. Sickness, adver- 
sity, all the evils to which we are here exposed, 
cannot destroy our comfort and our hope ; and, 
thanks be to God, over death itself he giveth us 
the victory, through our Lord Jesus Christ. 

Lastly, Parents, and indeed all who mourn, 



FREDERICK P. SULLINGS. 27 

should learn from what source consolations may 
be derived. 

It is true our fondest hopes have been de- 
stroyed ; our dearest objects in this world, have 
been taken away ; the grave contains them ; 
there through all the day and through all the 
live-long night, in silence they lie. We are 
in trouble, but they heed it not — in prosper- 
ity, but they know it not. We are never in 
in this world to see them again. We may, 
however, be comforted. Through the Gospel, 
life and immortality are brought to light. If 
we receive this Gospel, and if we live according 
to this Gospel, we have assurances of meeting 
them again. O, joyful hour ! O, transporting 
thought ! O, glorious prospect ! 

" There remaineth a rest to the people of 
God." 



ADDRESS TO THE YOUNG. 



BY FREDERICK P. SULLINGS. 



Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth, while the evil days corre 
not, nor the years draw nigh, when thou shalt say, I have no pleasnre in then. 
— Eccl. 12:1. 

This truly excellent advice was given by one 
of the wisest of men, as well as the best of kings. 
One who had probably observed more of the 
habits and customs of men, who had marked 
more particularly the hand-dealings of God to- 
wards his people, than any other individual. 
His wisdom was of the purest kind, and his 
knowledge of the most refined cast. Through- 
out all his writings, appear the most sublime 
instructions and the most lofty conceptions. 
His whole aim seems to have been to enlighten 
the mind of man, in regard to the best means 
of promoting his present good and of securing 



JUVENILE WRITINGS. 29 

his eternal welfare. Especially does he mani- 
fest a particular regard for the youth, whom he 
often condescended to notice in the most affec- 
tionate manner. Oftimes assuming the char- 
acter of a father, he has delineated, in glowing 
colours, the various evils which beset the young, 
and the means by which they might escape the 
snare of the fowler. He exhorts them to get 
wisdom ; for it is better than gold — and a good 
name ; for it is more excellent than precious 
ointment. His instructions to the youth are 
such as deserve of us a candid attention. In 
the words of our motto, he calls upon the youth 
to remember their Creator, and to remember 
him even now, before old age, with all its at- 
tendant infirmities, shall come upon them. 
Though these words were long since spoken, 
though age after age has since passed away, 
and thousands of generations have since suc- 
ceeded each other, yet they have been trans- 
mitted down to us in all their original truth and 
beauty, and this evening they say to us, " Re- 
member thy Creator. 5 ' 

In remarking upon this subject we shall con- 
sider, 

I. The object of our remembrance, namely 
our Creator. 



30 JUVENILE WRITINGS OF 

II. How we should remember him. 

III. What are the peculiar advantages of 
remembering him in our youth. 

I. Then, what is it that Solomon calls upon 
us to remember ? To whom is our attention 
directed in these words ? 

Our attention is called, my young friends, 
not to some august personage, who has figured 
largely in the world and performed some mighty 
exploits, which have astonished a surrounding 
multitude ; not one for whom triumphal arches 
have been raised in every city, and whose name 
has been emblazoned in every capitol ; not to 
one of the mighty monarchs of this earth, nor 
yet to one of the wise men of this world. No. 
Our attention is called, not to the creature, but 
to the Creator ; not to finite, fallible man, but 
to the infinite, unchanging God ; to him who 
created the world and all that therein is ; to 
him who drew the heavens over us as a curtain, 
and bespangled the firmament with ten thousand 
shining orbs ; who appointed the bounds of the 
seas, and gave regularity and order to all nature ; 
to him who created man a living soul, and en- 
dowed him with powers and capacities of mind, 
capable both of loving and serving his Maker, 



FREDERICK P. SULLINGS. 31 

and who has made all the works of his hands to 
subserve the best interests of man. 

The object Solomon would have us remem- 
ber, stands not only in the relation of a Creator 
to us, but he is also our bountiful benefactor. 
From our earliest moments he has watched over 
and provided for us. Every good and perfect 
gift which we have received, came down to us 
from the Father of lights. All the blessings 
we have enjoyed, whether temporal or spiritual, 
present or past, at home or abroad, all came 
from him. Are we blessed with kind and af- 
fectionate friends, and all the comforts of social 
life ? Do we delight in going forth into the world 
and feasting on the bounties of nature ? Do 
we rejoice that we were born in a land of liber- 
ty ; that no tyrannical despot waves his iron 
rod of oppression over our heads ? Our Creator 
is the author of all these blessings. Without 
his liberal hand, daily extended to us, with 
mercies in rich profusion, we should falter, we 
should faint, we should die. Without his al- 
mighty arm for our constant support, we should 
stumble upon the dark mountains of despair 
and death. 

Our Creator is also our preserver. He has 
not only created us, and given us our existence 



32 JUVENILE WRITINGS OF 

in this world, and connected with our being 
unnumbered blessings, but he has also preserved 
us in safe keeping. When in infancy, he 
watched over us with tender care and parental 
affection, and each succeeding year has furnish- 
ed additional marks of his great goodness, of 
his long-suffering and forbearance towards us. 
He has conducted us through the midst of dan- 
gers, seen and unseen. He has been our kind 
protector, our shield and our defence. He has 
given us strength equal to our day, nor has he 
laid upon us heavy burdens and grievous to be 
borne. In prosperity he has been with us, and 
in adversity he has not forsaken us. Although 
we have oftimes forgotten him, yet has he re- 
membered us for good. His all-seeing eye has 
never lost sight of us. 

He is also our affectionate Father, and he 
regards us as his children. O what a privilege 
to have such a Father ; a Father who knows 
all our wants, and who is abundantly willing 
and able to supply them ; a Parent who is con- 
stantly lavishing his blessings upon us, unnum- 
bered, and even unasked ; one who can soothe 
every trouble, ease every pain, and impart joy 
and peace to the disconsolate mind. 

Such, my friends, is the relation in which 



FREDERICK P. SULLINGS. 33 

our Creator stands to us, and such is the char- 
acter of that one whom Solomon calls upon us 
to remember. And here let me ask, what being 
in heaven or upon the earth has such impor- 
tant claims upon our heartfelt remembrance ? 
Who is it that has the supreme and undoubted 
right to all that we have and are ? It is our 
Creator. To strictly define him, in all his at- 
tributes, is impossible. No language can con- 
vey an adequate idea of his perfections. We 
cannot talk of the extent of his power ; for it is 
boundless — we cannot set limits to his mercy ; 
for it is infinite. Hear the words of Job : 
" Canst thou by searching find out God ? Canst 
thou find out the Almighty to perfection? It 
is high as heaven : what canst thou do ? It is 
deeper than hell : what canst thou know ? The 
measure thereof is longer than the earth and 
broader than the sea." Suffice it then for us 
to know, that he is all and in all ; that his all- 
seeing eye beholds us, in what situation soever 
we are placed ; that we cannot escape his pres- 
ence, even were we to take to ourselves the 
wings of the morning, and fly to the uttermost 
parts of the earth. Suffice it for us to know, 
that in him we live, move and have our being ; 
4 



34 JUVENILE WRITINGS OF 

that to him is due everlasting praise and thanks- 
giving. 

And shall we forget such a Creator, such a 
benefactor, and such a preserver? Shall we 
cease to think of Him who gave us our exist- 
ence, who has richly bestowed upon us blessings 
without number, and who has conducted us 

m 

thus far through our journey of life safely ? 
Shall not our grateful emotion ascend to our 
great and best Parent 1 These are serious and 
important questions, and should come with all 
their important bearings to every mind. We 
would not treat with cold neglect and formal 
indifference him who had even no particular 
interest in our welfare, much less him who had 
always befriended us. But O, it is a dark blot 
on the page of man's life, that he is so prone to 
forget his Creator, to forget him whom of all 
others he should remember. We pass 

II. To consider how we should remember 
him. 

To remember, is to call to mind things that 
are past, and in distinct and vivid colours to 
perceive them by the mind, as though they were 
now passing before us. This recollection may 
be either agreeable or disagreeable, as the ob- 
jects remembered are either pleasant or unplea- 



FREDERICK P. SULLINGS. 35 

sant. Thus many of us can look back to the^ 
time of our emancipation from the thraldom of 
sin with pleasure ; and we love to think of and 
remember the time when our smiling Saviour 
first appeared for our relief, and shook off the 
fetters of sin, and brought us into the liberty of 
the Gospel of peace. While too we look back 
on our many errors and sins, our recollection 
cannot but be accompanied with regret and 
sorrow for all our misdeeds. 

When we remember our Creator, it should 
be with corresponding emotions and becoming 
affections. A mere speculative belief that there 
is a God, the mere recollection that he is our 
Creator, avails but little, if that remembrance is 
not accompanied with suitable acts of virtue 
and righteousness on our part. The profane 
swearer, when driven by winds and waves until 
he imagines himself sinking into a watery grave, 
has often been constrained to remember his 
Creator and cry out for mercy. The hardened 
wretch, who has dared to defy his Maker and 
violate his laws in the sunshine of prosperity, 
has, nevertheless, when the Almighty came 
forth in the tempest and in the whirlwind, 
speaking in a voice of thunder, trembled and 
been afraid. 



36 JUVENILE WRITINGS OF 

Our remembrance of our Creator should be a 
fixed principle of the heart, which would lead 
us to conduct in that manner that would evince 
to all, that we did indeed remember him, and that 
our great delight was to serve him. We should 
remember him with the most devout gratitude, 
and with the warmest affection of our heart. 
We should endeavour to manifest our gratitude 
by every means in our power. Our thankful 
songs should often ascend the holy hill of Zion. 
Like trie psalmist of old, we should be ready to 
exclaim in the sincerity of our heart, " Praise 
the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me 
bless his holy name ; let every thing that hath 
breath praise the Lord." Like St. Paul, we 
should pray always, and in every thing give 
thanks. And how shall we most effectually 
demonstrate our gratitude to God and our warm 
affections for him ? 

First, By yielding ourselves in obedience to 
his divine commands. If we feel gratitude to 
God for his mercies, if our hearts are duly af- 
fected by his kindnesses towards us, we shall 
wish to obey our Maker. We cannot, on any 
principle of reason or propriety, withhold our 
homage from him. The reason why so many 
disregard his commands and violate his laws, is, 



FREDERICK P. SULLINGS. 37 

because they do not remember him. O no, 
they forget him. Their minds are occupied 
with other objects. Their attention is rivetted 
to earth and earthly things. They see not the 
mercies of God to them, for their eyes are 
blinded by sin. They hear not the sweet music 
of that voice, which is inviting them to come 
and drink of the fountain of unalloyed bliss. 
Their ears are deaf to all above. O did they 
but realize in whom they live and have their 
being, did they feelingly consider how depend- 
ant they are upon their Creator for every breath 
they draw, for every blessing which they expe- 
rience, their lively gratitude would be manifest- 
ed to all around by their strict obedience to the 
requirements of the divine law. 

In proportion as our gratitude is felt towards 
God, will our devotedness to him and his laws 
appear. If we remember our Creator as we 
ought, we shall love him with all our heart and 
serve him with all our powers. If we regard 
him as our great and best Parent, surely we 
shall not wish to displease him. We should not 
wish to offend so beneficial a friend, by any act 
of disrespect or carelessness. No. We should 
rather love him with warm affection, because 
he first loved us. 
4* 



38 JUVENILE WRITINGS OF 

He has the strongest claims to our gratitude 
and to our reverence. His goodness is daily 
passing before us ; his mercy extends to us ev- 
ery moment ; every hour brings with it some 
new memorial of his loving kindness ; each day 
furnishes some fresh tokens of his love ; and 
each succeeding year teems with blessings from 
his hand. Toward our Creator then, should 
our warmest affections move, and with all pos- 
sible efforts of our soul should we ascribe glory 
to his name. 

Secondly, We should remember him with 
heartfelt repentance for our sins, and with deep 
contrition of soul. It is a fact which none can 
deny, that notwithstanding our Creator has been 
so good to us, we have been unmindful of him ; 
that for his numerous mercies and blessings we 
have manifested the basest ingratitude ; we 
have " set at nought his counsels, and would 
none of his reproofs." Though we have not 
forgotten to participate, though we have daily 
been partakers of rich blessings, yet have we 
forgotten from whom they came. We have not 
looked up through gifts to the Giver, nor have 
we returned thanks to the Author of all these 
blessings. O then, when we remember his 
mercy and our ingratitude, how should we come 



FREDERICK P, SULLINGS. 39 

before him with penitence of soul and contrition 
of heart. Have we, my friends, been snatched 
from impending danger by his care over us, 
have we received our daily sustenance from him, 
and have we been constantly living upon his 
bounty, and all this without thinking of him ? 
O, if there were any kind feelings still in exer- 
cise, if the mind had not become callous and 
the heart hard as the adamant, how would our 
remembrance of him and of his goodness lead 
us to sincere repentance for all our sins. 

My friends, we have offended against the Al- 
mighty, we have dared to raise our puny arm in 
rebellion against the Lord God of Hosts. We 
have all gone out of the way, and departed from 
the path of virtue. We are this evening called 
upon to stop, and to remember our Creator. 
How shall we think of him and of our ingrati- 
tude, but with shame and confusion of face ? 
How dare we delay a moment a reconciliation 
with our Creator ? Remember " he that har- 
deneth his neck shall suddenly be destroyed, 
and that without remedy." 

Thirdly. We should remember that God 
will bring us into judgment. For all the deeds 
done in the body we must give account to him. 
They that have done good are to come forth 



40 JUVENILE WRITINGS OF 

unto the resurrection of life. Yes, my friends, 
though* we are now exalted to heaven in point 
of privilege, though our Creator has lavished 
his blessings upon us, and has cast our lot in 
pleasant places, for all these privileges, for every 
blessing which we enjoy and for the use we 
make of them, we must give a strict and an irc> 
partial account. Although we may now forget 
our Creator, and despise the commands of God, 
and reject with disdain the offers of religion, 
yet, remember, for all these things God will 
bring us into judgment. 

My friends, we do well to remember our Cre- 
ator in all the relations in which he stands to 
us. We do well to remember his justice, as 
well as his mercy ; his punishment of the wick- 
ed as well as his faithful rewards of the righte- 
ous. We pass 

III. To notice some of the peculiar advan- 
tages of remembering our Creator now, in the 
days of our youth. 

The scripture on which we are remarking is 
addressed emphatically to the youth. " Re- 
member now thy Creator in the days of thy 
youth." The words imply some particular ad- 
vantages that would result to those who should 



FREDERICK P. SULL1NGS. 41 

obey it, some of which we shall now endeavour 
to bring to view. 

The time allotted to man in this world, has 
been divided into three distinct parts, each hav- 
ing connections and each sustaining different 
relations, and these have been designated in the 
following manner — youth — the meridian of 
life, and — old age. 

Perhaps there is no portion of time more in- 
teresting, or on which more depends, than our 
youthful days. It is a time when we are just 
entering upon an untried scene ; when we are 
forming habits and contracting alliances which 
will probably grow with our growth and strength- 
en with our strength. It is a time when we 
enter upon enchanted ground, where ten thou- 
sand snares are spread around to entrap our 
unwary feet, and ten thousand unsuspected foes 
lurk in ambush. It is a time when example 
and custom are exerting a most powerful influ- 
ence over our minds, and a time which is prob- 
ably deciding our characters for life. 

How important it is then, that this part of 
our life should be rightly improved — that we 
make a right beginning. How important it is 
that we be furnished with such principles of 
rectitude and virtue, as shall mark all our future 



42 JUVENILE WRITINGS OF 

course, and render our lives useful and happy. 
The knowledge of our Creator, my young 
friends, a realizing sense of his omnipresence, 
of his goodness, justice and mercy, will be of 
invaluable service to us through life, and our 
greatest security against the evils and tempta- 
tions to which we shall be exposed. We will 
now notice some of the peculiar advantages of 
remembering our Creator in the days of our 
youth. 

First. Youthful piety is most pleasing to 
our Creator. 

The solemn dedication of ourselves, our souls 
and bodies, all that we have and are to our Cre- 
ator, while in the days of our youth, is a sacri- 
fice with which he is well pleased. So the poet, 

*' Our youth decayed, his power repairs 3 
Hi's mercy crowns our growing years 3 
He satisfies our mouth with good, 
And fills our hopes with heavenly food." 

They have the promise if they seek that they 
shall find. " I love them who love me, and 
they who seek me early shall find me." 

Josiah was a particular favourite of the Al- 
mighty, because while in his youthful days, 
even when only eight years old, he sought after 



FREDERICK P. SULLINGS. 43 

the God of his father David; and God remem- 
bered him, and promised to gather him unto his 
fathers and into his grave in peace, and that his 
eyes should not witness the evils which he would 
bring upon the people. So Timothy from a 
child knew the scriptures, which made him wise 
unto salvation. From all the instances we find 
on divine record, it appears that God is well 
pleased with youthful offerings. Our Saviour, 
too, manifested the most affectionate regard for 
the youth. " Suffer the little children and for- 
bid them not to come unto me, for of such is 
the kingdom of heaven." While the children 
were singing hosannas to him, though the chief 
priests and scribes were sore displeased and re- 
buked them, he replied, " Have ye never read, 
out of the mouths of babes and sucklings thou 
hast perfected praise 1" Our heavenly Father 
will not forget those who in the morning of life 
serve him. 

Secondly. Youth is the best period of life 
for remembering our Creator. 

It is a period devoid of many of the perplex- 
ing cares and disquietudes necessarily atten- 
dant upon manhood and old age. The mind is 
then tender and susceptible of divine impres- 
sions. Satan has not bound the young mind 



44 JUVENILE WRITINGS OF 

down in slavish captivity, like those who have 
grown old in sin and are become hardened in 
crime. The youth has not, by a long course of 
sin and wickedness, so effectually rooted out all 
principles of justice and humanity, as have they 
who for many years have been living in sin 
against God. The mind is then by far more 
tractable than at any other period of our lives. 
Tt is a time which is generally devoted to the 
acquisition of knowledge, because the mind is 
then fresh and vigorous, the intellectual powers 
daily expand, and the mind is susceptible of 
great improvements. Prejudice has not then 
so strong a hold upon our minds but it may be 
made to relax its iron grasp. Sin has not be- 
come so sweet a morsel but we may, with prop- 
er care, be made to hate and abhor it. 

Those, my young friends, who have long ac- 
customed themselves to scenes of vice and wick- 
edness, who have wasted the morning of life in 
mirth and levity, who have passed the meridian 
of their lives in sin and profanity, and who have 
even arrived at old age alienated from God and 
virtue, are in the most miserable situation. 
The season of youth, when God often called 
upon them to give up their hearts to him, has 
vanished away and is forever gone — manhood, 



FREDERICK P. SULLINGS. 45 

with all its opportunities for embracing the Sa- 
viour, has come ; but, alas ! it has gone, and 
now they are trembling on the brink of the 
grave. The God whom they rejected in their 
youth and despised in maturer years, is now to 
them afar off. O then, my young friends, while 
in your youthful days, while health of body and 
vigour of mind are yours, remember your Crea- 
tor. 

Thirdly. If we remember our Creator in 
the morning of life, and commence a virtuous 
course while in our youth, we may be eminently 
useful in our day and generation. God has ap- 
pointed means and instruments by which he 
communicates good to the children of men, and 
he has made us capable of exerting an influence 
on those around us. Example bears a powerful 
sway. The young and tender mind, almost 
unconsciously, bows to its dictates. Are those 
examples virtuous, we are led to imitate virtue ; 
are they vicious, our minds are apt to be warped 
by their unhallowed influence, and our princi- 
ples of right to become prostrated by the bane- 
ful contagion. We are apt to inhale the moral 
atmosphere around us. It is then, important, 
that our influence be right and our examples 
virtuous. 

5 



46 JUVENILE WRITINGS OF 

If we remember our Creator as we ought, we 
shall also remember our fellow man. We shall 
not forget that a world is lying in sin and wick- 
edness, and that man has a soul that must live 
forever, either in boundless felicity or in endless 
despair. Actuated by the Spirit of God, we 
shall put forth some energy to snatch souls from 
impending ruin. 

Again, we should remember our Creator in 
the days of our youth, from the consideration 
that life is short and uncertain. Time, ever on 
the wing, stays for no man. Days, and weeks, 
and months, and years, move rapidly onward, 
and death, which is abroad in the land, cuts 
down both the young and the old, the wicked 
and the virtuous. Youth, with all its enjoy- 
ments, with all its vigour and sprightliness, is a 
period, nevertheless, during which many, very 
many, are borne to their long and last home. 
Comparatively, very few r live to three score years 
and ten ; far the greater part of those who an- 
nually die, are young persons. Youth, then, is 
no protection against disease, no safeguard 
against the destroyer. O, it will be an incalcu- 
lable advantage to us in the hour of death to 
have God for our friend and heaven for our por- 
tion. Yes, when heart and flesh begin to fail 



FREDERICK P. SULLINGS. 47 

us, when the soul and the body are about to be 
separated, when our hold upon this world is 
loosening, and all the scenes of life are fast re- 
ceding from our view, the thought that God, 
our heavenly Father, whom we remembered 
and on whom we trusted in our youth, will con- 
duct us safely through the dark valley and shad- 
ow of death, and lead us triumphantly up to 
joys eternal and on high, this, O, this will com- 
fort us ! 

But I must draw this subject to a close. 
Many are the advantages of early piety, and 
many are the exceeding great and precious 
promises to those who continue steadfast to the 
end. O then, my young friends, in closing 
these remarks, let me charge it home upon you 
all, with the earnestness of affection, to remem- 
ber your Creator. O, do not, I beseech you, 
do not forget him. Think not yourselves dis- 
graced by attaching yourselves to the cross of 
Christ. No. It is an honour of which angels 
might justly boast. Think not the service of 
God beneath your notice. No. It is a service 
infinitely glorious. It is far better to love and 
serve Him, who will reward us an hundred fold 
in this life and in the world to come with life 
everlasting, than to serve the prince of the pow- 



48 JUVENILE WRITINGS OF 

er of the air, whose greatest delight is to torment 
and harass the children of men. It is far better 
to be ranked with those who come up out of 
great tribulation, having washed their robes and 
made them white in the blood of the Lamb, to 
be associated with angels and the spirits of the 
just made perfect, than to be numbered with 
the unholy in this world, and in the coming 
world to be cast into the blackness of darkness 
forever. 

If you suffer these golden moments to pass 
by unimproved, if you defer the work of repent- 
ance and delay to remember your Creator, if 
you spend this important part of your life in 
mirth and jollity, in "riot and reveling, if you 
devote this part of your life exclusively to world- 
ly purposes, to the acquisition of wealth or hon- 
our, regardless of your immortal interests, I fear 
you will never think of God, never remember 
your Creator until it is too late, never seek for 
mercy until it is clean gone forever. O how 
dangerous it is to delay to some future period 
the salvation of our souls. O embrace the pre- 
sent opportunity of making your calling and 
election sure. Now, lay hold upon the hope 
set before you in the Gospel ; now, before the 



FREDERICK P. SULLINGS. 49 

summer is past and the harvest be ended, re- 
member your Creator. 

My young friends, those of you who have 
complied with the exhortation of Solomon, and 
have remembered your Creator, are exhorted to 
continue to remember him ; never, no never, to 
your latest hour, forget him. Remember him 
in whatever situation you may be placed. Think 
of him in retirement as well as in the public 
congregation, in prosperity as well as in adver- 
sity. Cast all you care upon him, for he careth 
for you. Trust in him, and you shall live for- 
ever. Obey his commands, and you shall have 
right to the tree of life and enter through the 
gate into the city. In fine, remember your 
Creator, and, in return, He will crown you with 
immortal honour and eternal glory. 
5* 



AN ESSAY 



BLESSEDNESS OF THE HEAVENLY STATE. 



BY FREDERICK P. SULLINGS. 



There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God. — Heb. 4 : 9. 

The sacred scriptures are replete with the 
most precious promises to the righteous, and 
they contain the most awful denunciations 
against the wicked. They every where speak 
of two distinct classes. They declare the one 
shall come forth to the resurrection of eternal 
life, and the other to the resurrection of eternal 
damnation. From the most remote period of 
time, God has had an especial care for his peo- 
ple, while the wicked have been doomed to 
destruction. I know the wicked often flourish 
as a green bay tree, but they are lifted up to 
this height of prosperity that their destruction 



JUVENILE WRITINGS. 51 

may appear the more conspicuous; that God 
may, in a more signal manner, show to mankind 
the dreadful end of the sinner ; but " there re- 
maineth a rest to the people of God." 

Two things demand our attention while re- 
marking on this subject — 

I. Who are the people of God — and 

II. The nature of that rest that remains to 
them. 

I. Who are the people of God. 

First. They are those who are not conform- 
ed to this world, but who are transformed by 
the renewing of their minds. God's people and 
the people of the world are two distinct classes, 
distinct in all their operations, in their thoughts, 
words and deeds. That class who may claim 
to themselves the honour of being God's peo- 
ple, are those who have their affections set 
on things above, their faces Zionward, their 
motto, " by grace are we saved." The people 
of this world are chained down to earth by un- 
due attachments, they are willing captives to 
sin and Satan, following the vicious inclinations 
of their own hearts and running into all manner 
of iniquity. To such God will say, in the final 
day of accounts, " I know you not, ye are not 
my people." 



52 JUVENILE WRITINGS OF 

God's people are not to be conformed to this 
world. It is true we live in this world, and we 
must in some degree associate with the people 
of the world, and we must use the goods of this 
world, but they should use the world as not 
abusing it, for the fashion of this world passeth 
away. They must let their light shine in the 
world, and so shine that others may see their 
good works and glorify their Father who is in 
heaven. Those who may be justly termed the 
people of God, are those who have and who 
continue to follow him fully. 

The Israelites were called the people of God, 
but in their journeyings through the wilderness 
towards the promised land, many of them fell 
short of their high vocation. They so often 
transgressed the laws of God and so often dis- 
pleased him, that they were destroyed in the 
wilderness, and did not enter into the rest which 
was designed for them. But his servant Caleb 
who was of another spirit and who followed him 
fully, entered the land of promise. 

The people of God must be a faithful people. 
It is not enough simply to profess to be his peo- 
ple, to pass through all the external forms^of 
religion. Profession is worse than useless with- 
out possession, if it affect any thing it affects 



FREDERICK P. SULLINGS. 53 

only the external man, while it leaves the heart 
untouched. It is but a pharasaical disposition 
which wishes only to be heard and seen of men. 
What would you think of a man who should 
profess to be an adept in the arts and sciences, 
but who was wholly unacquainted with the tenor 
and spirit of them. Alas ! it is too often the 
case, that professors of religion are willing to 
set down and feast on their profession v Their 
past sins they think are forgiven ; they have 
been baptized, joined the church and commu- 
nicated at the Lord's table ; and lo ! the battle 
is won, the victory gained, and they, in imagin- 
ation, are to be transported to heaven by angelic 
armies and welcomed home. 

Such, my friends, are the people of God. 
They are idlers in his vineyard, and have great 
reason to fear, that when weighed in the bal- 
ance they will be found wanting. The people 
of God are to fight the good fight of faith, to 
keep a perpetual war with sin and Satan, and 
to endure steadfast unto the end. Such and 
such only, the scriptures assure us, shall enter 
into that rest which remaineth to the people of 
God. 

Our Saviour most strikingly illustrates the 
necessity of being rooted and grounded in the 



54 JUVENILE WRITINGS OF 

good word of the kingdom, in his parable of the 
sower. The seed only which fell on good 
ground brought forth fruit ; and that brought 
forth fruit abundantly — some thirty, some sixty, 
and some even an hundred fold. The people 
of God must be fruitful, and their fruit should 
be of the choicest kind. Christians should be 
very careful to be well rooted and grounded in 
love, and that no root of bitterness spring up to 
choke the word. God will have no fruitless 
trees in his vineyard, no withered vegetable in 
his garden. Though he may long spare them, 
and give them every opportunity to bear fruit, 
yet, if they continue unfruitful, he will eventu- 
ally cut them down. O the obligations under 
which Christians are placed to be up and doing, 
to be alive in the cause of Christ. They should 
be stimulated to increasing diligence, knowing 
that the blood of souls may be required at their 
hands. 

Although the whole duty of the people of 
God, may be comprised in what has been said? 
yet it may not be improper more particularly to 
mention the signs by which they may be known, 
and by which we may learn whether we be in- 
deed the sons of God and heirs of the promises. 

In the first place, then, prayer is the most 



FREDERICK P. SULLINGS. 55 

successful weapon of the Christian. Whenever 
you find the real follower, the truly devoted dis- 
ciple of Jesus, you will find him a man of pray- 
er ; one who is often 'bowing before the throne 
of grace, and supplicating the mercy and grace 
of God, that he may be sanctified, body, soul and 
spirit. You will find him praying that God will 
bless his endeavours and convert a sinful and 
rebellious world to himself. 

The genuine Christian, too, is ardently at- 
tached to the holy Bible. This blessed volume 
is by no means to him a sealed book. It is his 
constant companion. He takes it as his guide, 
in whatever circumstances he may be placed. 
He studies it by day, and meditates thereon by 
night. At home or abroad, on the land or on 
the sea, where'er he roams, where'er he rests, 
he receives it as his choicest companion and his 
surest passport to the rest which remaineth to 
the people of God. 

The true Christian also endeavors to imitate 
as much as possible the example of his blessed 
Master, the Lord Jesus Christ. He feels it is 
his duty to imitate that forgiving spirit, that 
deep humility, that enlarged benevolence, that 
readiness to do good to all, which so emphati- 
cally characterized our Saviour. 



56 JUVENILE WRITINGS OP 

The people of God, too, are those who strict- 
ly attend on the ordinances of his house, who 
fully comply with all the directions of the Gos- 
pel in regard to the various duties which relate 
to the house of God. It is expected of them, 
that they use their exertions to sustain the 
churches, and if they slack their hands, or be- 
come slothful in their endeavours to support the 
dignity of the house of God, the enemy will en- 
ter in, take possession, and rule all who claim 
admittance. The scriptures are plain upon this 
subject. Paul, in his first epistle to the Corin- 
thians, praises the church that they had kept 
the ordinances, that they had not forsaken their 
assembling together as the manner of some was. 
My brethren, when you see the professed people 
of God forsake his house or neglect his ordi- 
nances, you may fear their love is waxing cold, 
their faith becoming weak and their prayers 
formal. The true Christian, the pious saint of 
God, delights to walk in all his ordinances 
blameless. 

Much more might be said of the peculiar 
characteristics of the people of God, but these 
remarks must suffice, while we proceed to no- 
tice, secondly, for a few moments, the rest that 
remaineth for them. 



FREDERICK P. SULLINGS. 57 

The word rest may properly refer to the 
comparative rest, which the Christian enjoys 
in this world ; but more particularly to that 
eternal rest which remaineth for them in the 
world to come. The Christian may be said to 
enjoy great rest in this world when he compares 
his present circumstances with his former situ- 
ation. Once he was under a heavy yoke, a 
galling oppression, a wretched and miserable 
servitude. Once he was tossed about, to and 
fro, at the caprice and will of the devil. Now 
he is obedient to the commands of Christ, and 
his yoke is easy and his burden is light. This 
service he finds is most delightful and pleasant. 
Formerly he was worn and wearied with the 
service of sin and Satan ; he could find no rest 
night or day. Now he can rest under the sweet 
sound of the Gospel ; he can take delight in the 
rich mercies of God, as exhibited in the gift of 
his Son, and in a good conscience, yea, in a 
conscience void of offence towards God and to- 
wards men. Formerly, he took no rest, even 
on the Sabbath, that hallowed day, set apart for 
the rest of man. He may indeed have stretched 
himself on his soft couch, or loitered about the 
fields or the streets, or even gone up to the 
house of prayer, but his thoughts, like the fooFs 
6 



58 JUVENILE WRITINGS OF 

eye, wandered to the ends of the earth. He 
found no rest. His mind, that part which never, 
never dies, was like the raging billows. 

The wicked are perfect strangers to repose ; 
they are aliens from the land of peace, and for- 
eigners from all true happiness. " There is no 
peace, saith the Lord, to the wicked ; they are 
like the troubled sea, when it cannot rest, whose 
waters cast up mire and dirt." 

The unconverted man may look on the Chris- 
tian with astonishment. He sees nothing in 
his outward circumstances superior to his own. 
He has no more wealth, nor worldly honour, no 
more outward prosperity, and why, he is ready 
to exclaim, has he more rest than I? Poor 
man ! He who has but a small pittance, his 
daily allowance, who spends his strength in la- 
bour from the rising to the setting sun, if he 
truly loves God and faithfully serves him, enjoys 
far more rest than thyself. Although his fair is 
hard, his path through life rough and uneven, 
yet his soul finds rest in the smiles of his Saviour 
and the approbation of his God. O, could you 
but know the mind of the Christian, could you 
penetrate the inmost recesses of his soul, you 
would then see what an astonishing contrast 



FREDERICK P. SULLINGS. 59 

there is between him that serveth God and him 
that serveth him not ! 

Happiness consists, not in the abundance of 
the goods of this world, but in devotedness to 
God and obedience to his laws. The sinner 
may think himself increased in goods and to 
have need of nothing, he may add farm to farm 
and store-house to store-house, and say to his 
soul, Soul, thou hast much good laid up in store, 
take thy rest, eat, drink and be merry ; yet God 
may say unto him, Thou fool, this night thy 
soul shall be required of thee. 

It is far otherwise with the Christian. Amidst 
the greatest persecutions, the most fiery trials, 
he often rejoices in the God of his salvation. 
Those dear martyrs, who have been persecuted 
even unto death, in the last trying hour, found 
rest with God. Holy Stephen, while his wick- 
ed persecutors were stoning him to death, en- 
joyed that heavenly serenity of mind, that sweet 
rest and composure of soul, that enabled him to 
cry out, in his last moments, " Lord, lay not 
this sin to their charge." Paul and Silas could 
sing the praises of God, though confined in 
prison walls and bound in iron chains. Well 
may the Christian exclaim, when liberated from 



60 JUVENILE WRITINGS OF 

the thraldom of sin, such joy as this I never 
knew, such pleasure never found ! 

But we have been only considering the rest 
which the people of God enjoy in this world, 
and although it is truly blessed, and such as we 
very much need in this vale of tears, though it 
smooths the path of life down to the grave, and 
accompanies us through the valley and shadow 
of death, and escorts us into fairer regions and 
happier climes, yet how imperfect, how chang- 
ing all our comforts here, compared with what 
we hope to realize in that eternal world of rest ! 

And now, my friends, I am entering upon 
a subject which to describe would require far 
greater and far holier power than men possess. 
" Eye hath not seen, ear heard, nor hath it en- 
tered the heart of man to conceive the joys that 
God hath prepared for those who love him." 
If we cannot even conceive the glory of this 
rest, much less can we adequately describe it 
But although our minds are inadequate to grasp 
the glories of that heavenly world, and although 
imagination in its utmost flight cannot take in 
the extent of that joy, yet we may understand 
so much of it, from the word of God, as to re- 
joice the heart of every Christian and to allure 



FREDERICK P. SULLINGS. 61 

every lover of this rest to this abode of lasting 
repose. 

In farther describing this rest, let us observe 
in the Jlrst place, it is a perfect rest. 

In this world perfect happiness is a stranger 
to us, and complete rest is unknown. Those 
who enjoy the greatest degree of spiritual re- 
pose, those who live the most devoted to God, 
whose communion with the Father of all good 
is most uninterrupted, have seasons of weari- 
ness, hours of fatigue, their minds encumbered 
with the cares of this world and the corruptions 
of the flesh, often become faint and weak, and 
all find, by sad experience, that here there is 
no perfect resting place. There is always 
something to wound our best feelings, to mar 
our greatest enjoyments, and frequently, when 
the spirit is willing the flesh is weak, and when 
we would do good evil is present with us. 

" We should suspect some danger nigh 
Where we possess delight." 

We may not, we ought not, to complain of 

this world. It is a beautiful world, and God, 

when he had made man, the last and noblest of 

his works, pronounced it to be very good. We 

6* 



62 JUVENILE WRITINGS OF 

have here many joys, many comforts, many 
blessings, for which we ought to feel and to ex- 
press the most sincere and devout gratitude to 
the great Author of all good ; but sin entered 
into this world, and with it came death and all 
our wo. But O, how animating the thought, 
that when we arrive at the heavenly city of the 
New Jerusalem, our rest will be perfect. No 
cares, no sorrows will find their way into that 
heavenly state. There will be no mixture of 
rest and weariness in that celestial kingdom. 
No jarring discords will interrupt the heavenly 
choir, while, with golden harps, they sing the 
song of redeeming love and saving grace. There 
no enemy will be permitted to rise up to disturb 
the repose of the happy soul. There the in- 
habitants shall never say they are sick. There 
no mortal body shall weigh down and depress 
the happy spirit. There no calamity shall ever 
visit them. There all will be one entire scene 
of perfect rest, one unbroken continuity of sweet 
repose and freedom from all care. 

To the weary pilgrim, as he travels from place 
to place, how good and refreshing is rest. The 
pilgrim, who is travelling in the road that leads 
to heaven, will one day find a rest that will be 
perfect and entire, and a joy that will be un- 



FREDERICK P. SULLINGS. 63 

speakable and full of glory. Many, with this 
rest in view, have been willing to endure fatigue 
and to pass through the furnace of affliction, 
while they have cheered their way and antici- 
pated the glorious termination of all their toils, 
in the sweet strains of the devout poet — 

" Let cares, like a wild deluge, come, 

And storms of sorrow fall, 
May I but safely reach my home, 

My God, ray heaven, my all. 

There shall I bathe my weary soul 

In seas of heavenly rest, 
And not a wave of trouble roll 

Across my peaceful breast." 

Secondly. This is an ever-abiding, an eter- 
nal rest. 

To be assured of rest from all fatigue, trial, 
sorrow and sin, for many years, we should think 
a very great favour, and one which ought to call 
forth grateful acknowledgments to the bountiful 
Giver, but when we consider that this rest is 
always to last, that it never will end, 

" When we've been there ten thousand years, 

Bright shining as the sun, 
We've no less days to sing God's praise 

Than when we first began," 



64 JUVENILE WRITINGS OF 

O how it enhances the value of this rest ! 
What ! never to experience any more weari- 
ness ; never feel one rising sigh, one painful 
emotion ; never more to witness any sorrow in 
our associates ; never more to experience the 
painful separation of beloved kindred and dear 
friends ; never more to witness the love of many 
waxing cold and sin abounding ; never more to 
hear of countries and kingdoms despoiled and 
devastated by some mighty conqueror ; never 
more to be affected by sin's unhallowed influ- 
ence ; never more, in fine, to be the subjects of 
weariness or pain, of sorrow or disappointment, 
but to be at rest forever and ever — 

O, these will in part constitute the blessed- 
ness of heaven. O, how these prospects should 
encourage every one to fight the good fight of 
faith, to press through all opposition, and to be 
determined, by the grace of God, though it were 
at the loss of all things, to enjoy this rest. 

Thirdly and lastly. It is a rest which com- 
bines in itself all that is truly excellent and de- 
sirable, all that is superlatively virtuous and 
holy, in fine, it is but another name for heaven. 

The word rest carries with it, in this passage, 
a two-fold meaning. It implies, not only a ces- 
sation from weariness and from every eviJ, but 



FREDERICK P. SULLINGS. 65 

also the possession of every good. It implies 
an introduction into the best of all society, a 
participation of the purest joys, and a view of 
the most glorious scenes. What society is more 
interesting than that of the holy angels, and of 
the spirits of just men made perfect, and of Je- 
sus, the adorable Saviour. Here we shall be- 
hold an innumerable multitude which no man 
can number, here the general assembly and 
church of the first-born, and here all the re- 
deemed and glorified, who will have washed 
their robes and made them white in the blood 
of the Lamb. What greater joys than those 
which flow at God's right hand ; and what can 
afford more glorious scenes than the heaven of 
heavens — than the paradise of God ! 

My friends, the subject which has thus been 
imperfectly described, is one of great importance. 
It certainly must concern us all, to know whe- 
ther we are the people of God and heirs of the 
promises. It certainly is of the utmost impor- 
tance, that we make a decision in relation to 
this subject. If we wish to be accounted the 
people of God and heirs of the promised rest, 
if we would lay up treasures in the heavens, O 
how it becomes us to watch lest we enter into 
temptation ; watch lest the enemy get the ad- 



€6 JUVENILE WRITINGS OF 

vantage and draw you from the path of virtue. 
O think, that on your conduct here depends 
your eternal rest or your everlasting wo. "When 
the allurements of the world would turn you 
aside from the strait and narrow way which 
leads to heaven, O stop and think what you are 
doing. O consider with what a valuable inher- 
itance you are about to part for a mere trifle. 
When your gay companions, your social friends 
would lead you from the house of prayer, re- 
member that if you comply, you are losing your 
hold on the blessed promise. In fine, when 
any thing, which would injure your character 
as a Christian, proposes itself to you, say to it, 
get thee home. 

O how lamentable is the condition of those 
who are destitute of rest in this world, and 
who have no claim to that rest which remaineth 
in another world to the people of God ! They 
are seeking happiness where it never can be 
found ; they try the pleasures of this world, but 
there is an aching void, a painful vacuum within 
their minds. But O your pains are now small, 
your burdens are now light, compared with what 
they will become unless you turn your eyes from 
vanity. You are now in a state of probation 



FREDERICK P. SULLINGS. 67 

and there is now a hope set before you in the 
Gospel. O lay hold on this hope and secure 
an interest in the precious Saviour, or you are 
lost forever. Amen. 

It should be understood by all who read the preceding, that it 
was written but a little while before the last sickness of the au- 
thor. He probably did not think, while he was attempting to 
describe the heavenly rest, that himself was so soon to behold the 
glories and enjoy the felicities of that happy state. Let the rea- 
der prepare to follow him. How appropriate the direction of the 
wise man, "Boast not thyself of to-morrow 3 for thou knowest 
not what a day may bring forth." — Editor. 



NEW YEAR'S ADDRESS, 



DELIVERED BEFORE 



THE PORTSMOUTH LITERARY SOCIETY, AT THEIR 
REQUEST, JANUARY, 1831. 



BY FREDERICK P. SUJLLINGS. 



The cultivation of the mental faculties is a 
subject of great interest, and ought to be deeply 
investigated by every lover of literature and pro- 
moter of knowledge. Man is endowed with 
powers and faculties far more capacious than 
any being which the great Creator has placed 
on this his footstool. His mind can be expand- 
ed by cultivation, or it will become contracted 
by neglect. It can be made to soar aloft to the 
very pinnacle of science, and solve the most 
abstruse points of literature, or it will grovel in 
the low regions of ignorance and confines of 
superstition. It can be made to exert almost 



JUVENILE WRITINGS. 69 

unbounded influence, if a proper direction be 
given to it, or it will, like the mole of the earth, 
be covered in its own furrow, if it be neglected. 
It can be made to be of extensive utility to the 
world by cultivation and refinement, or it will 
remain silent and inert, like the snail, if no ex- 
ertions be made to call forth its mighty powers. 

Admitting this to be true, it now remains to 
inquire, how can we accomplish this desirable 
object ? How can we best store our minds with 
useful knowledge, and so improve them that we 
may be qualified for extensive usefulness ? To 
this question many answers might be given and 
many thoughts suggested ; but wishing to con- 
sult brevity, I shall name only a few of the most 
efficient means by which our minds may be 
improved and refined. 

First. In order to make any progress in this 
grand enterprise, attention is particularly nec- 
essary — without it nothing can be accomplish- 
ed. Although we may be furnished with a most 
excellent library, and every thing of a literary 
nature is adapted to our convenience, yet these 
will avail us little or nothing while attention is 
wanting. The mind must be made to bear on 
the object before it. There all its penetrating 
powers must be applied, in order, if possible, to 



70 JUVENILE WRITINGS OF 

dissect and examine its various parts. This 
power of the mind may be used in all places 
and on every occasion. Nature is full of objects 
to which our attention may be directed with 
much and important success. 

The attraction of gravitation, and other im- 
portant laws of nature, were discovered by at- 
tention. Had Newton, when he saw the apple 
fall from the tree, suffered his attentive powers 
to have laid dormant, would he have gained 
that honour which afterwards immortalized his 
name ? Surely not ; nor w 7 ill any one, though 
his talents may be great and his advantages still 
greater for mental improvement, attain to any 
great distinction, if he does not call them forth 
with an untiring zeal. 

To make any considerable progress in this 
work, we must persevere. Although we should 
set out in this work, and determine to cultivate 
and refine our minds, yet without perseverance 
we should come far short of our undertaking, 
and soon relinquish it as too deep and too broad 
for our capacities. This, like all other busi- 
ness, must be pursued with a fervent, untiring, 
constant and persevering zeal ; and though 
clouds may gather thick and fast, and obstacles 
almost insurmountable rise up before him who 



FREDERICK P. SULLINGS. 71 

is endeavouring to penetrate the thick mazes 
which intervene between him and the cultivation 
of his mental powers, yet if he but remember 
and practise the ancient motto, " Per sever aniia 
vincit omnia" he will ride victorious on the car 
of fame, and soon find himself situated on the 
very summit of the hill of science, reaping am- 
ple rewards for all his labours. 

The greatest and wisest men in our country 
and the world, are those who have been perse- 
vering, who have been determined that they 
would surmount every obstacle and lay prostrate 
every barrier that would hinder their ascent to 
honour and wisdom. Perhaps there is no one 
in this assembly, whose opportunities for mental 
improvement have not been greater than many 
of the most learned men in our country enjoyed. 
Shall I refer you to Dr. Adam Clarke, a man 
far-famed for his literary acquirements ? He 
was once a ditch-digger in the bogs of Ireland. 
To a Washington, the greatest statesman that 
ever lived ? He was once a rustic farmer-boy 
in the fields of Mount Vernon. To a Demos- 
thenes, the greatest orator of any age ? He 
was the son of a poor blacksmith, labouring un- 
der many great disadvantages. Consult these, 
as well as many other distinguished men, in 



72 JUVENILE WRITINGS OF 

respect to the manner by which they arrived at 
the high and important stations to which they 
attained. They will reply, — " perseverance 
brought us hither." Who, I ask, ever heard of 
a man's prospering in business, without possess- 
ing a persevering spirit ? Does he leave his 
business half finished, and then present it to 
those who employed him to complete the affair ? 
And shall the person, who is endeavouring to 
cultivate his mental powers, faint and tire in so 
laudable and praiseworthy an object? Shall 
he, of all others, falter in so grand an enterprize ? 
No ; surely not. Let him, while he is endeav- 
ouring to direct his attention to this object, ap- 
ply the touch-stone, perseverance. 

Having briefly shown that the mind of man 
may be improved, and the most efficient means 
by which it may be accomplished, I now pro- 
ceed to speak more particularly concerning the 
advantages and merits of this society, whose 
quarterly term we now celebrate. 

First. This society is designated as a liter- 
ary one by its very appellation. Without pro- 
ceeding any farther, we should conclude that it 
was a society in which knowledge and literature 
hold a very conspicuous rank ; a society whose 
chief object is the cultivation and refinement of 



FREDERICK P. SULLINGS. 73 

the mind. But as there are various societies in 
our country which have assumed this name, and 
have different rules and regulations, it may be 
necessary to exhibit, to those assembled, the 
general course adopted by the members of this 
society for the improvement of their minds. 

First. The grand and important science of 
constructing sentences and composing written 
pieces is the main object of this society. This 
is truly no small undertaking. The person who 
can transmit his sentiments to paper, in an in- 
telligible and elegant manner, has taken an im- 
portant step towards the successful cultivation 
of his mental powers. Indeed there is no so 
communicable a method of doing good and be- 
coming influential, as by writing ; for writings 
may be transmitted through successive ages 
down to posterity, and exert an important influ- 
ence on thousands. 

Secondly. These compositions, when written, 
are presented to a committee, chosen for that 
purpose, for correction ; and in this manner the 
authors of the respective compositions have op- 
portunity for great improvement. The great 
attention and the good degree of perseverance 
which has been exercised by the members of 

this society, have placed them in a rank not to be 
7# 



74 JUVENILE WRITINGS OF 

despised. We invite those who have a desire 
to improve their minds, to unite with us, and to 
move forward in the diligent use of all the means 
which are calculated to lead to the acquisition 
of true wisdom. Here is an opportunity and a 
place to call forth your powers. Here is work 
that will make you thrive. Here are possessions 
which are real gain. Is there one true Rhode 
Islander who, for a moment, will hesitate to 
come forward and aid in this good work ? Is 
there one real descendant of the virtuous and 
patriotic Roger Williams who will ever oppose 
an institution like this ? Come forth, then, and 
declare that here is a successful rival to similar 
institutions in sister States ; that this State, 
though small in length and breadth, when com- 
pared with other States, is not a whit behind in 
the arts and sciences. 

A few words to the members of this society, 
and I close my address. 

Gentlemen and Ladies of the Portsmouth 
Literary Society — you have united for the sole 
purpose of improving your minds and cultivating 
your mental powers. You have adopted certain 
rules and regulations, by which you govern 
yourselves, and by which you carry on an united 
work of mental improvement. In this great 



FREDERICK P. SULLINGS. 75 

work you have thus far, probably, surpassed 
your most sanguine expectations ; you have 
seen that your exertions to form a society, whose 
chief object should be the improvement of the 
mind, have not been in vain. You have un- 
doubtedly witnessed the budding forth of those 
talents, which, if properly nourished, will render 
important service to mankind : you have, more- 
over, beheld the germinating of bright intellects, 
which a little while ago were covered in rubbish. 
Let these then serve as incitements to a farther 
train of movements, and if opposition seems to 
stand before you, and many barriers hedge up 
your way, yet your greatest opposers, if you 
persevere, will be convinced of their error. I 
would say to you, fear not ; though your num- 
bers are small, your object is good and your 
ability great. Your proceedings will meet the 
approbation of the intelligent, the educated, the 
wise, the good, yea, of all whose approbation 
you would think it an honour to enjoy ; and 
God himself approves your object. Does not 
He look with a propitious eye on those who are 
endeavouring to improve that immortal mind 
which he has committed to their trust? Most 
surely. If, then, we are thus surrounded w r ith 



76 JUVENILE WRITINGS OF 

such strong guards, we will not fear though a 
few ignorant persons shoot their puny darts* 

Notwithstanding you have accomplished much 
and have progressed in an almost unparalleled 
degree, yet you may proceed still farther ; you 
may yet make new discoveries, and bring forth 
new subjects of interest and importance. The 
mind of man has never been placed in that sit- 
uation in which it could go no farther ; and we 
may find sufficient employment through the 
whole of our lives in improving our mental pow- 
ers. Persevere, and this society may yet send 
forth, from its associates, a Washington, who 
shall fill with dignity the presidential chair ; a 
Summerfield, who shall scatter life and light far 
and wide ; a Franklin, who shall bring from 
the clouds the vivid lightnings ; and many in- 
dividuals of distinguished rank may yet come 
forth from this place. Your rise has been, thus 
far, signalized with success. Your little bark 
has triumphed over the gale of opposition, and 
you have taken a stand among other societies 
of a like nature. 

But suffer me not to pass by the ladies of this 
assembly. You have also taken an important 
stand in relation to this subject, and have shown 
that you will not be backward in the ways of 



FREDERICK P. SULLINGS. 77 

well-doing. It is chiefly through your influ- 
ence, that this society has arisen to that rank 
which it now occupies ; yea, the talents which 
have been displayed in this department would 
honour any society. Continue then your exer- 
tions ; for so long as you do continue them, 
this society must and will rise ; but if you 
slacken your hands, it will, in a great measure, 
fall from the elevation to which it has now at- 
tained. It is an old adage, that " men rule the 
world, but women rule the men." Although 
men may appear to have the sole government of 
national affairs, yet the women still have the 
government over men. The principles which 
mothers inculcate in the breasts of their chil- 
dren, remain with them so long as they live. 
How important then, that the fair sex especially 
attend to the cultivation of their minds. Those 
of them who are mothers, if their minds are 
cultivated, are prepared to refine the minds of 
their children, and with dignity and propriety 
to perform the duties of the important stations 
they hold in society. Others, by imitating their 
example, are rendering themselves the orna- 
ments of the circles in which they now move, 
and are preparing for the higher and more im- 



78 JUVENILE WRITINGS. 

portant stations now occupied by their seniors, 
and which they may soon be called to fill. 

You will permit me to close these remarks, 
by congratulating you in view of the success 
which has thus far attended your exertions, and 
of your present encouraging prospects ; and by 
expressing a wish that your future operations 
may be attended with all that success which the 
great and good object you have in view would 
authorize you to expect, 



MISCELLANEOUS. 



TIME. 

Time is short. We enter upon the stage 
of action. We figure for a moment, and like 
a shadow, we vanish and are gone. We 
scarce commence our earthly career before we 
are called to our long and last home. As the 
flower of the field which blossomed so fresh and 
fair in the summer's morn, at noon-day droops 
and dies, so we fade from mortal view. 

We often vainly imagine that our days will 
be many and full of blessings, that we are in- 
creased in goods and have need of nothing; but 
time soon dispels the pleasing vision, and breaks 
the spell of the enchanter. Our days, which 
we thought would be many, are soon all num- 
bered. Our plans for long life are all thwarted, 
and time ushers us into eternity. 



80 JUVENILE WRITINGS OF 

Time is fleeting. Time stays for no man. 
Its wheels do not stop their revolutions to ac- 
commodate sinful man, but with steady, untiring 
progress time wings its flight beyond the power 
of recall. Our golden moments are prizes which 
cannot be retained, blessings which must be 
improved as they pass along, or we lose them 
forever. O, how hastily our moments pass 
along ! We but think they are coming, when, 
lo ! before we are aware, they are gone. 

On time hangs eternity ; yes, on this short 
space of time, on these fleeting moments hangs 
eternity; yea, an eternity of boundless felicity 
or endless wo. Time was given us but to pre- 
pare for eternity, and it very much depends on 
our own actions, whether we are escorted to 
heaven or thrust down to hell. We are repeat- 
edly assured in the holy word of God, that it is 
for us to choose whom we will serve. An am- 
ple provision is made in the Gospel for all, and 
all are invited to come and drink freely of the 
streams of salvation; but none are forced, none 
are irresistibly drawn from the paths of vice to 
the paths of holiness and virtue. 

In this view of the subject, we find that man 
has much to do, that we are not mere machines, 
moved by some unknown power but that we are 



FREDERICK P. SULLINGS. 81 

free agents possessed of powers of mind suffic- 
iently adequate to choose life or death. Let no 
one flatter himself with the absurd thought, that 
he shall enter heaver, unconditionally and solely 
through the irresistible decree of the Almighty. 
Let no one despair of obtaining heaven on the 
same principles, for God is no respecter of per- 
sons, but in every nation he that feareth God 
and worketh righteousness is accepted with him. 
From the consideration then, that time is but a 
probationary state given us to prepare for eter- 
nity, O how it becomes man to work out his sal- 
vation with fear and trembling. If we suffer 
time to pass away neglected or unimproved, if 
we heed nGt the passing moments, nor strive to 
catch some good from day to day, we shall have 
an eternity to lament our supineness and wilful 
disobedience, but if we rightly improve this short 
space of time, if every day and hour and mo- 
ment witness our firm attachment to virtue and 
religion, in time we may be happy and in eter- 
nity infinitely blessed. 

Time is important. The importance of time 
cannot be well overrated, or its utility too well 
understood. Though time is short and fleeting, 
and days and weeks and months and years, 
move rapidly along, yet through the right im- 
8 



82 JUVENILE WRITINGS OF 

provement of them we may effect much good in 
the world. Such is our constitution, that we 
are capable of exerting great influence upon one 
another. Men by their example have wrought 
wonders, even in this short space of time. The 
wilderness has been made to blossom as the rose. 
The rude and illiterate savage has imbibed the 
spirit of civilization, and the ignorant and idol- 
atrous pagan has been brought to worship the 
only living and true God. Besides, the influence 
which we may exert will not die, when the soul 
shall leave the body. No, it will outlive this 
feeble tenement of clay, and for aught we know, 
it may be felt ages after we have ceased to exist. 
The spirit of reformation, so far from subsiding 
when its votaries died, increased, and the influ- 
ence of a Luther, a Calvin and Whitefield are 
felt at the present day. 

Time is important, inasmuch as it is allotted 
to us to prepare for future events, and to fit the 
mind to dwell with God and our Saviour in glo- 
ry. O how prone is man to forget the import- 
ance of time ! We live apparently as though we 
were to live forever, as if death were unknown, 
and this were our fixed abode, our ever abiding 
habitation. O how many have suffered their 
golden hours to pass by unnoticed and unim- 



FREDERICK P. SULLINGS. 83 

proved, till death stared them in the face, and 
awaked them from their reverie ! Then they 
have cried, O for one hour longer to prepare to 
meet their God. They would part with every 
thing, yea, they would give worlds in exchange 
for a few moments. O how important then is 
time ! God grant that T may realize its import- 
ance before it is too late. But time must have 
an end. Yes, time will have an end. O when 
time shall have an end, what a scene shall we 
witness ! Then the dead and all that are in 
their graves, will come forth. The elements 
will melt with fervent heat, and the world and 
all its works will be burned up. O who is pre- 
pared to witness these solemn scenes ! 



THE COUNTRY. 

When we look around upon the variety of 
scenery which is spreading over the face of the 
earth, we discover some particular places which 
please the eye, delight the mind, and satiate the 
imagination, either from the thoughts we asso- 



84 JUVENILE WRITINGS OF 

ciate with the recollections of those we are ac- 
customed to meet there, or from some novel 
incident connected with those places, or from 
some peculiar richness which nature has placed 
around them. 

Perhaps of all scenes those which the country 
affords are the most calculated to please the 
mind, drive far away all cares, and delight the 
vision by the extent of the prospect which it 
lays open to view, and the vast variety which 
crowds in upon every side. Cities, filled with 
the wealth of nations, courts, brilliant with or- 
naments, for which enslaved millions have toiled, 
may strike us more forcibly at the first glance, 
yet they are not calculated to give those pleas- 
ing and durable sensations. What can be more 
magnificent than the rising sun as he gilds the 
summit of the distant mountains, or, sinking in 
the west, his last rays float upon the fleecy 
clouds and tinge their borders with azure ? 
What can raise more pleasing emotions in 
the mind than to stand upon the summits of 
the mountains themselves, and look upon the 
extensive prospect of wood and vale, waving 
groves, and rivers wandering amidst valleys, 
variegated with all the colours of vegetation ? 

He that can wander amidst groves of wood, 



FREDERICK P. SULLINGS. 85 

enlivened by a thousand mellow voices, gently 
agitated by zephyrs cool and refreshing, or lis- 
ten to the murmuring brook, as it glides down 
the hill, mingling its sounds with the vocal 
woods, or look upon the waterfall, as it dashes 
its white billows from rock to rock in confusion, 
or gaze upon the purling rill as it first issues 
bubbling from the sand ; he that can see all 
this, without emotion, is unacquainted with one 
of the grandest sources of pleasure. 



ON THE INFLUENCE OF WEALTH. 

To the gentlemen of the Portsmouth Literary 
Society, in reply to the question, Has wealth 
any necessary influence on the actions of men ? 
I answer — There can be little or no doubt in 
any mind respecting its influence, when we im- 
partially survey the means which are employed 
to obtain it. The imaginary facilities of ob- 
taining property strike the beholder with pecu- 
liar force. Its charms are presented before 
him with a glowing and often an heightened 
lustre. 

8* 



86 JUVENILE WRITINGS OF 

Among the various pursuits to which the 
mind of man is attracted, none hold a more 
conspicuous rank than wealth. But its influ- 
ence is of a two-fold nature, and those in quest 
of this object employ sometimes honest and 
sometimes dishonest means to attain it. 

Those who are influenced by a laudable de- 
sire, whose object is to provide for their fami- 
lies and to benefit those around them by distrib- 
uting with a liberal hand to the necessities of 
the poor and distressed, and by performing other 
benevolent deeds, are regarding with esteem by 
all around them, and will undoubtedly be re- 
warded by him who said — To him that giveth 
it shall be given. But that thirst which is nev- 
er quenched, that appetite which is never sati- 
ated, that hankering after wealth which is not 
restrained either by the laws of God or man, is 
to be dreaded as a moral pestilence. 

Under the influence of this inordinate passion, 
men have committed the most nefarious deeds 
and perpetrated the most horrid crimes. No 
means have been too base to be employed in 
this wicked work. Not satisfied with their just 
rights, and what they could acquire by manual 
labour, they have hesitated not to intrude on 
their neighbours' property, and plunder the 



FREDERICK P. SULLINGS. 87 

goods of their friends. What is yet more dire- 
ful, how often have they, in a cool and deliber- 
ate manner, plunged the fatal steel in the breast 
of some innocent person, and while the vital 
stream is yet silently gushing forth, deprived 
him of his last penny. This is indeed a horrid 
picture, but instances of this kind are frequent. 
Our periodicals weekly send forth such direful 
news. For what purpose are our highways and 
public roads frequented by the midnight assas- 
sin ? Why are our seas infested by the dark, 
malicious and designing pirate ? It is because 
the accursed thirst for gold is raging within 
them. With these things before our eyes, we 
can but view the influence to be all-important. 
So long as our desires are kept within proper 
bounds, wealth, so far from having a detrimental 
influence over us, will have a beneficial one. 
But if we give scope to these desires, if we but 
let them pass the line of demarcation, if we 
permit them to overleap the bounds of prudence, 
the love of money will be unto us " the root of 
all evil." 



88 JUVENILE WRITINGS OF 



HEALTH. 

The word health implies a freedom from 
sickness. Its value, however, can be justly es- 
timated by those only who have been deprived 
of it. Such have felt, indeed, how great a loss 
they have sustained in their deprivation. Those 
only who have experienced the burning fever, 
the racking cough and the aching head, truly 
realize the comfort and the blessing of a well 
regulated system, nerved with vigour and bound- 
ing with elasticity. Those only who have been 
confined in their sick apartments and on the 
couch of pain, justly estimate the worth of the 
refreshing breeze in a summer's morn ; and 
those only whose diet has been regulated to cold 
julaps and water gruels, know the value of that 
indulgence which nature allows to the healthy 
and the strong. 

In short, health is the greatest temporal bless- 
ing with which mankind is favoured ; deprived 
of this, all earthly comfort is insipid and taste- 
less. Though we may be situated in the most 
pleasant circumstances, surrounded by near and 
dear friends, ever willing to administer the balm 



FREDERICK P. SULLINGS. 89 

of consolation, and watching with anxious solic- 
itude over every care, — yet the languid eye, 
the fallen countenance, the trembling hand and 
the pallid frame, all but too truly tell the ab- 
sence of strength and vigour to be happy. 

Sin, however, has entered into the world, and 
in its train has introduced sickness, pain and 
death. 



DEATH. 

This is a subject from which the mind of 
man is apt to withdraw with far other emotions 
than those of pleasure and joy. It is a subject, 
too, which, when introduced to our considera- 
tion, is too frequently refused a patient investi- 
gation. Why should we so much dread the 
approach of death ? Why should we look for- 
ward to the time of our dissolution with such 
anxious fear ? It is true, the ungodly man, the 
profane swearer and the immoral have reason 
to look forward with fearful apprehensions to 
that solemn period ; but he who has cast his 



90 SELECT POETRY. 

anchor within the vail, whose hope is sure and 
steadfast, who has God for his friend and hea- 
ven for his home, why should he be unwilling 
to walk through the dark valley and shadow of 
death ? why, to be escorted by angels to the 
paradise of God ? Why should this world, the 
fashion of which passeth away, engross so much 
of our time and occupy so many hours that oth- 
erwise might be spent in converse with God, 
and in preparing for a dying hour. 



" They that seek me early shall find me." 

" Come, while the blossoms of thy years are brightest, 

Thou youthful wanderer in a flowery maze ; 
Come, while the restless heart is bounding highest, 

And joy's pure sunbeams tremble in thy ways j 
Come, while sweet thoughts, like summer buds unfolding, 

Waken rich feelings in the careless breast — 
While yet thy hand the ephemeral wreath is holding, 

Come, and secure interminable rest. 

Soon will the freshness of thy days be over, 

And thy free buoyancy of soul be flown ; 
Pleasure will fold her wing, and friend and lover 

Will to the embraces of the worm have gone j 



SELECT POETRY. 91 

Those who now bless thee will have passed forever ; 

Their looks of kindness will be lost to theej 
Thou wilt need balm to heal thy spirits' fever, 

As thy sick heart broods over years to be ! 



Come, while the morning of thy life is glowing, 

Ere the dim phantoms thou are chasing die — 
Ere the gay spell, which earth is round thee throwing, 

Fades like the crimson from a sunset sky. 
Life is but shadows, save a promise given, 

Which lights up sorrow with a fadeless ray : 
O, touch the sceptre ! — with a hope in heaven — 

Come, turn thy spirit from the world away. 

Then will the crosses of this brief existence 

Seem airy nothings to thine ardent soul, 
And, shining brightly in the forward distance, 

Will of thy patient race appear the goal ; 
Home of the weary ! where, in peace reposing, 

The spirit lingers in unclouded bliss : 
Though o'er its dust the curtained grave is closing, 

Who would not early choose a lot like this 1" 



Written by a bereaved Father. 

11 Was mine a happiness too pure for erring man to know 7 
Or why did Heaven so soon destroy my paradise below 1 
Enchanting as the vision was, it sunk away as soon 
As when, in quick and cold eclipse, the sun grows dark at noon- 



92 SELECT POETRY. 

I loved thee, and my heart was blest ; but ere that day was spent, 
I saw that light and graceful form in drooping illness bent, 
And shuddered as I cast a look upon thy fainting head ; 
The mournful cloud was gathering there, and life was almost fled. 

Days passed j and soon the seal of death made known that hope 

was vain j 
I knew the swiftly-wasting lamp would never burn again. — 
The cheek was pale 5 the snowy lips were gently thrown apart ; 
And life, in every passing breath, seemed gushing from the heart* 

I never trusted to have lived to bid farewell to thee, 

And almost said, in agony, it ought not so to be. 

I hoped that thou, within the grave my weary head shouldst lay^ 

And live, beloved, when I was gone, for many a happy day. 

With trembling hand I vainly tried thy dying eyes to close ; 
And almost envied, in that hour, thy calm and deep repose ; 
For I was left in loneliness, with pain and grief oppressed, 
And thou wast with the sainted, where the weary are at rest* 

Yes, I am sad and weary now ; but let me not repine, 
Because a spirit, loved so well, is earlier blest than mine ; 
My faith may darken as it will, I shall not much deplore, 
Since thou art where the ills of life can never reach thee more." 



Deacidified using the Bookkeeper process. 
Neutralizing agent: Magnesium Oxide 
Treatment Date: March 2005 

PreservationTechnologies 

A WORLD LEADER IN PAPER PRESERVATION 

1 1 1 Thomson Park Drive 
Cranberry Township, PA 16066 
(724)779-2111 



BRARYOFCONGRE 



013 809 770 5 



LIBRARY OF c "[gSg& 

029 557 444 6, 






i$ 






